Dorchester police chief will forgo 4 days vacation as discipline for misconduct in office

DORCHESTER – Police Chief Gary Leichtman will forgo four days of paid vacation as discipline for misconduct in office.

The agreement between Leichtman and the Village Board was reached earlier in September after the board voted Aug. 13 to approve a proposal to discipline the police chief. The details were not released in August pending approval of the attorneys for the village and Leichtman.

Village Board President Wayne Rau said Leichtman will forfeit four days of vacation rather than an unpaid four-day suspension from his job.

“With a one-man (police) department we didn’t want to go with no cop around for four days,” Rau said.

“This was agreed to by both parties (following negotiations by the attorneys),” he said.

Overall, the community is satisfied with the work of the police chief, but the village board agreed Leichtman used poor judgment, and his actions could leave the village open to civil litigation, Rau said.

Leichtman had been investigated for misconduct in office, which resulted in no criminal charges after review by Marathon County District Attorney Ken Heimerman. The investigation stemmed from a bar fight in Dorchester in 2013 between Leichtman’s adult son and an Abbotsford man.

Heimerman said in his decision he was “deeply troubled” by Leichtman’s lack of understanding of his jurisdictional boundaries and lawful authority and that he involved himself in an investigation involving his son.

Heimerman concluded his review with the caveat that Leichtman’s actions “will need to be addressed by others.”

Reporter Liz Welter can be reached at 715-384-3131. Find her on Twitter as @welter_liz.